Jesus for President

There is no presidential candidate running right now, on the left or on the right, that can fix all of the problems the United States currently has. Only Jesus can remove hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh. Only through Jesus can we receive the Holy Spirit and be comforted through the most disastrous of trials. There is no policy change and no political agenda that can truly make us “come alive”. Only Jesus can do that.

That said, it doesn’t mean we, as Christians, do not have a personal responsibility when it comes to elections (whether they be presidential or local). We should be looking for candidates that not only profess Christ, but, through their actions, show that they take God’s word seriously.

Voting is a serious matter. While God is sovereign over all and will allow whomever He pleases into office, for whatever purposes He pleases, we still have a responsibility to do our best to elect someone into office that follow Christ, both in words and in action, the latter being more important. Many people will profess Christ around election time, but few will actually follow through.

Some will say that our votes don’t matter. Some others will say they refrain from voting to “let God choose”. I find this a bit ridiculous, as we don’t exactly do the same with our ministries at our churches. You don’t see a homeless ministry saying “well, I know they’re hungry and homeless, but God has a plan for them, so we won’t feed them. We’ll just pray for them”. You don’t see a prison ministry saying “we don’t need to visit them. God will sovereignly save them somehow”. So why do we take that attitude with politics? Our votes matter. Just as we should use every other talent and ability for the glory of God, our votes are a way of worship, of giving Glory to God by using the power we have to make a difference.

I used to endorse Bernie Sanders before he lost the DNC nomination. Many people have asked me how I could endorse someone who seems to be Agnostic (or, at the very least, is not a professing Christian). The truth is, I wasn’t always backing Bernie Sanders for president. I originally chose someone from the GOP (not Trump). My decision was based on personal testimony that he was, indeed, a Christ follower. While I don’t discount that he is, some of his actions during the presidential race has made me question his policies and ideas (not his faith), which led me to look elsewhere. It is not enough to call yourself a Christian; you must also act like one.

When I saw Bernie’s track record of protesting segregation, as well as his consistent 50 year record of always standing up for those in need, I was sold. Of course, I disagree with him on issues like abortion and gay marriage. Personally, I do not think these issues can be solved at the government level anyway. They are heart issues and, as such, is not something we can really legislate. Both are issues that require personal investment from Christians of their time, money, and prayer.

At the end of the day, I say all this to say that YOUR VOTE MATTERS. Whether you’re voting for someone like Bernie Sanders or someone like Marco Rubio (and if you’re a Christian voting for Trump, please read this article by Max Lucado and this one as well, as it is a very hard argument to make why ANY Christian should even consider voting for him), your vote matters.

But even your vote can’t save a life. Only Jesus can do that.

So yes, vote for whom you think will best run the country, but don’t forget you too have a responsibility to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.

Published by christinaxarteaga

Christina Arteaga (who sometimes goes by Christina Chanel) is, quite simply, a grace addict. Everything else in her life stems from her love of Jesus Christ. She is a wife, a mother, an artist, and a writer, but most importantly, she is a child of a God and a worshipper of Jesus Christ.
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